Sir Jimmy ceremony axed over sex claims

A CEREMONY to commemorate a road in Scarborough named in honour of Sir Jimmy Savile has been cancelled as sex abuse allegations surrounding the former TV presenter intensified.

The road running outside the Jim’ll Fix It star’s former flat at Wessex Court was renamed Savile’s View last month. However, the local council confirmed yesterday an official unveiling planned for this week would not go ahead.

The decision was confirmed just hours after a plaque dedicated to Sir Jimmy outside the same flat was found vandalised.

The words “paedophile” and “rapist” had been scrawled across the memorial. The attack has sparked fears of further reprisals in the North Yorkshire town as police investigate allegations that Sir Jimmy sexually abused teenage girls during the 1970s.

Residents of Wessex Court have threatened to pull down the plaque themselves to stop the building being targeted.

Glasgow City Council has already responded to the sex claims by removing a statue of the late broadcaster that stood beside a children’s swimming pool at Scotstoun Leisure Centre.

In an interview yesterday, a woman who claimed she witnessed sexual abuse by Sir Jimmy criticised BBC bosses for dropping its Newsnight investigation into the late entertainer.

Karin Ward, who waived her anonymity, said: “I told Newsnight what was the absolute truth. Jimmy Savile took me out in his car and pulled into a lay-by. This had happened before and he had just groped… this time he wanted more.”